For current and past students who did law school at an Ivy campus, was there a distinction made between students who went to Ivy league undergrad and those who didn't?

I'm just curious because I have a few friends who already matriculated to various law school/grad school programs in Ivy league campuses. And they have complained frequently to me about snootiness. They complained that a lot of the law students (who came from ivy leagues for their undergrad education) looked down on and frequently made snide remarks at classmates from institutions of "lower caliber". They also complained that these law students boast all the time about their ivy league education/campuses, and automatically assume that students who came from lower caliber undergrad schools got "easy As" and weren't as well-rounded... things like that.

I would honestly think that it didn't really matter.. I've been working for a few years after undergrad, and outside the school bubble, so I was just wondering about the reality of undergrad prestige.. and how this affects social life. Is it really such a huge deal? I'd love to hear your stories/thoughts on this.

BTW I went to a state university that's within the T14. And so did these friends.

I've encountered very little of that, but maybe that's because I choose friends who don't have that attitude. I have friends from ivies, big state schools, and no-name schools no one has even heard of who aren't from the state where the school is located. Generally, no one cares. If anything, I think people are impressed by students from no-name schools, since they obviously did very well compared to their peers, and had scores that were as good or better than the ivy students'. And from what I've seen, it matters little in terms of grades, OCI-success, etc, which is really where bragging rights come in. No one cares if you went to Princeton if you get a 2.5 and strike out at OCI; you're just another loser in the law school lottery.

katesearches wrote:I'm just curious because I have a few friends who already matriculated to various law school/grad school programs in Ivy league campuses. And they have complained frequently to me about snootiness. They complained that a lot of the law students (who came from ivy leagues for their undergrad education) looked down on and frequently made snide remarks at classmates from institutions of "lower caliber". They also complained that these law students boast all the time about their ivy league education/campuses, and automatically assume that students who came from lower caliber undergrad schools got "easy As" and weren't as well-rounded... things like that.

I hope no one from the ivies is quite that stupid.

Maybe Harvard has harder coursework. I don't know. I didn't go there. But I don't believe it. Does Harvard get a super secret math to teach that is so much harder?

The ivies are better because of the networks. Rich people go there and very accomplished (though perhaps poor) go there. The rich would have been fine anyways, the poor get to ride on their coat-tails by association. They're also better simply because they're perceived to be better and perception is everything.

Anyways. If they're snobs, I'm sure they'll always be snobs. They'll sound like snobs in their interviews, and they'll sound like snobs begging mom and dad to pay their loans off.

You will have a few super-stuffy and insular people like that at any top law schools, whether its an ivy or not. But you will be able to spot the type pretty easily since their douchiness will be something they wear on their sleeves. The vast majority of people are nothing like that, so I wouldn't worry.

I go to NYU, and the majority of my classmates come from elite undergraduate schools, with the ivy league VERY well represented. And as I said, a few have a snottiness complex to them. But this is pretty rare, since most people I know, including most people with HYP undergrad pedigree, are nothing like that. They know as well as I do that we both go to the same law school now, and whatever undergrad we came from is irrelevant, since we will both have the same law degree pretty soon.

One you get into law school, undergrad doesn't really matter; only your grad degree matters. I quite like the fact that I went to a cheap ass state undergrad but ended up at an Ivy law school. Feels like I went the cheaper route for equivalent education.

Just to echo what has already been said, most people in law school aren't snooty/snobby/whatevs. You choose with whom you want to associate yourself. And given that reputation is a big deal in the legal field, you should choose your close friends wisely, but be civil and pleasant to all you meet regardless of their clique or friendship group.